Archive By Section - Opinion

Day 28 (Monday, March 22): The historic vote last night by the U.S. House of Representatives to pass national health care reform has the Capitol abuzz this morning. While some are happy, others are in disbelief, and almost all are wondering what the financial impact on our state will be. While serving as the Mayor of Pooler for nine years, I was always resentful of programs created by the State that resulted in financial burdens for cities. As a state legislator, I am even more leery of federal programs and their financial impact on our state. Whether coincidental or ...

April 01, 2010|
By State Sen. Buddy Carter
Special to the Courier
|Opinion

The Georgia General assembly adjourned on Friday, Crossover Day, and the 30th legislative day of the 2010 session. As I write this weekly update on Friday, we hav e not yet adjourned for the day and session is expected to last throughout the evening as we debate legislation. As we began the day on Friday, we had 36 Bills and Resolutions and more will be added throughout the day. As far as the Fiscal Year 2011 budget, subcommittee meetings will continue next week as we work to finalize the House version of the budget. In session for three days this ...

April 01, 2010|
By State Rep. Ron Stephens
Special to the Courier
|Opinion

The Georgia Legislature is quickly approaching the end of the 2010 session. We wrapped up last week with day 30, known as "crossover day" and the last day for Senate bills to pass over to the House. The Senate has passed many bills important to saving taxpayers' money, protecting public safety, protecting Georgian's health-care rights and dealing with Internet fraud. The following are some bills that may be of particular interest to you and your families:

April 01, 2010|
By State Sen. Tommie Williams
Special to the Courier
|Opinion

Layoffs. Crumbling budgets. Foreclosures. Rising unemployment. Crisis. These words pepper the headlines of newspapers across the nation. And unfortunately, Georgia too. Today, our state faces a financial crossroads: either we continue down the same worn path of fiscal mismanagement or we pave a new road of fiscal sanity for Georgia.

Even conceding our state's seemingly clueless attitude toward understanding the importance of education to Georgia's future prosperity, our politicians and bureaucrats are going to have a hard time screwing up the College of Coastal Georgia. The institution simply has too much going for it.

Senate Majority Whip Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) wants to eliminate a bunch of Superior Court judges in Georgia. Seabaugh says getting rid of 19 judges would save the state $13 million to $14 million. This means we Georgians would then have money available for really important stuff like building Gov. Sonny Perdue's $9 million horse barn in Houston County and enough cash left over for a palomino or two. When state government works well, it is an awesome sight to behold.

Earlier this month, many Georgia television viewers, newspaper readers, radio listeners and Internet users likely were shocked at the graphic images, stomach-turning descriptions and bluntly worded warnings that turned up on their screens, pages and radios. The candid messages are part of The Georgia Meth Project, a hard-hitting ad campaign designed to discourage meth use among teenagers.

Articles by Section - Opinion

Last weekend, as I introduced President Barack Obama on the steps of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, I was overcome with emotions. Of course, I reflected on how far we have come over the past 50 years. But one thought could not escape my mind: Those who fight to make it harder to vote don't know what it's like to be kicked, clubbed and beaten for the simple right to cast a ballot.

It is with regret I tell you that our intrepid public servants in the Legislature have scuttled a bill that would have lowered the age of eligibility to serve as a member of the House of Representatives to 18 years of age and to 21 in the State Senate.

Editor, For decades, students at the traditional public schools in Georgia have been denied the chance to win a state championship because the system overseen by the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) ignores the fact that there is no parity among traditional public schools, private schools and city schools.